Darkroom sink drain leaking - what to use?

I have an ABS darkroom sink, and it is leaking at the drain. The issue is the plumbers putty used to seal the drain is shot after I don't know how many years of exposure to various development chemicals. I can of course just open the thing up, strip out the old putty, and replace it with new that will last me another 5-10 years, but is there something else I can use that will be more resistant to chemistry?

If you replace the putty with silicone, it'll last forever. Everything needs to be 100% clean beforehand.

Don Heisz said:

If you replace the putty with silicone, it'll last forever. Everything needs to be 100% clean beforehand.

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I have silicone caulk like you would use for windows, etc. Is that good enough?

TheFlyingCamera said:

I have silicone caulk like you would use for windows, etc. Is that good enough?

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Silacon is still silacon so the answer is yes. The worst case is that you might need to reseal it after 15 or 20 years, and how old would you be then? Could you at that point to pay someone to climb around the sink and do it for you? If I were you, I would fix it and it that did not do it call in a handyman who would be less expensive than a plumber.

Like Don said, make sure to clean and dry all of the fittings before using the silicone. I needs a really clean surface to adhere properly.

TheFlyingCamera said:

I have silicone caulk like you would use for windows, etc. Is that good enough?

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It has to be silicone (like GE Silicone II for kitchen/bath use) and not siliconized - which seems to mean nothing.

I, however, would stick with the plumber's putty. If, for any reason, something shifts or needs to be changed, the putty accommodates - silicone is almost permanent.

Silicone. The company that I work for builds groceries stores which these day have lots of sinks. Our plumbers haven’t used plumber’s putty for a least twenty years. Silicone pretty much eliminated call backs on there sink drain installations.

Roger

Don Heisz said:

It has to be silicone (like GE Silicone II for kitchen/bath use) and not siliconized - which seems to mean nothing.

I, however, would stick with the plumber's putty. If, for any reason, something shifts or needs to be changed, the putty accommodates - silicone is almost permanent.

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When I went to buy plumber's putty at ACE Hardware Store, they told me that plumber's do not use it much and that silicon is better.

Silicone is better until you have to change something. Then it's not. That will likely never come up, though. It is worth noting, however, that you can easily tighten the drain flange enough to squeeze out almost all the silicone - that won't happen with putty.

I know a lot of plumbers. For the most part, I wouldn't use them as an example...

I know that Corian sinks spec Silicone (100%) .

I have 2 big sinks. I use plumbers putty. Silicone is great stuff, it has to be fresh. There's an expiration date on the Silicone tube, believe me it's there for a reason.

I was gifted an older Arkay stainless steel sink. When I disassembled the drain the 25+ year old putty was still sealing, dry but still pliable. Silicone is not good with potent chemicals, acids and alkalis.

If the caulk is "paintable" it's not pure silicone. A good grade of silicone will not bother plastic. ABS sinks, depending on the grade of ABS may be better served with Silicone.

Another approach would be to buy a nice drain with rubber gaskets?

If you use silicone, finger tighten until you see the caulk start to squeeze out, then let it cure a day or two then hand tighten and check for leaks. Recheck a week later.

Henkel makes amazing sealants, some extraordinary in price.

Good old plumbers putty and hemp, thems was the days.

Funny thing, I recently had leaking plumbing around my darkroom sink drain too. These days any good hardware store has things like, Goop, Plumber's Adhesive, or Gloozit. They all work like a charm. I removed the drain, roughed up and cleaned the surface, replaced the drain with a new one and one short piece of new PVC and and in about 30 minutes my long time leaky nemesis was history!

now if you really want to get serious about leaks....I forget the name of the product but if you go to a boat supply store there you will find a product that is meant to shore up a hole in the bottom of a boat while it's still in the water! it also seals almost instantly. I've used it for a leaking print washer with no problem.
remember that this product was made to to be used in salt water so no problem with chemicals!

I know nothing about this but could it be that plumber's putty melts with really hot water? I get drips of the stuff on the pots and pans that are stored under the kitchen sink... nasty to get off of them. Could be a concern if one wants to clean darkroom equipment with hot water.

Peter Schrager said:

now if you really want to get serious about leaks....I forget the name of the product but if you go to a boat supply store there you will find a product that is meant to shore up a hole in the bottom of a boat while it's still in the water! it also seals almost instantly. I've used it for a leaking print washer with no problem.
remember that this product was made to to be used in salt water so no problem with chemicals!

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That is a kind of epoxy afaik and has no place in plumbing because it's absolutely permanent.

This will do the job perfectly (I know by experience)...

grain elevator said:

That is a kind of epoxy afaik and has no place in plumbing because it's absolutely permanent.

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permanent ISTHE IDEA

Peter Schrager said:

permanent ISTHE IDEA

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That's one way to do it... but traditionally and for good reasons, plumbing is done to be reversible/repairable.

grain elevator said:

That's one way to do it... but traditionally and for good reasons, plumbing is done to be reversible/repairable.

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That's why I suggested Permabond, it holds very tight, nearly permanent, but with some force and a good wrench it can be undone without damaging (if it's metal).

TheFlyingCamera said:

The issue is the plumbers putty used to seal the drain is shot after I don't know how many years of exposure to various development chemicals.

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"after I don't know how many years of exposure". Personally, if I had something that worked fine for "how many years", and was as fool proof as plumbers putty, I'd use it again.

Well, I replaced the drain itself with a new stainless steel drain, and then sealed the edge with silicone. I also applied silicone to the threaded locking nuts that connect the drain to the down pipe and the down pipe to the U-bend. That took care of it and now it is utterly leak-proof. We will see how long that lasts, but for now, the area under my sink remains dry.

TheFlyingCamera said:

Well, I replaced the drain itself with a new stainless steel drain, and then sealed the edge with silicone. I also applied silicone to the threaded locking nuts that connect the drain to the down pipe and the down pipe to the U-bend. That took care of it and now it is utterly leak-proof. We will see how long that lasts, but for now, the area under my sink remains dry.

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That's good news.

There is silicone, and there is silicone. With much of it, of the hardware store variety, "S" stands for s .. t. But if anyone thinks silicone can't fail, they don't begin to understand the topic. One problem with silicone is that it doesn't get along with certain substrates over time, so will fail in that repect unless correct surface preparation is done first. Another problem is that it leaves a residue which must be thoroughly scoured off if you want to use something else later. Where silicone does tend to last in a plumbing aspect is when it acts merely like a gasket, permanently squeezed inside a fitting. Argue if you must; but I sold over a million dollars of tube sealant per year for all kinds of applications, including marine, industrial, and military. Many of them were pro products not found in home centers.

Don't buy anything called "siliconized acrylic". In caulking tube style, it's fairly easy to find GE Bathroom grade 100% silicone. Check the expiration date; it matters. Let it fully cure before use. There are also siliconized plumber's putties more durable than the common variety. Go to a true plumbing supply house and see what they have.

Now as per plumbing epoxy putties. That's the nuclear solution. Unless these crack through embrittlement and joint movement, their problem is that they're hell to remove it you have to do that. I personally keep on hand a variety of darkroom maintenance sealants; but some of them are specialized and not commonly encountered.

Hope you guys are better photographers than plumbers is all I can say.
It's fun when people ring me with a plumbing issue and get all the terminology mixed up or call thingies and whatsies, I can usually work out what there on about with a few quick questions, but other times its more fun to pretend I don't understand and let them get very frustrated.